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The statement:

1) Even though this country is only 40 percent self-sufficient in pork, our farmers are losing up to £10 on every pig they sell, as a result of European Union over-supply. Without the support of the rest of the food-chain, serious contraction in the national pig herd is inevitable. This will mean even more imports of lower-welfare pork in future.

2) Some players in the British industry have already signalled their intention to scale back or quit. To prevent a much larger exodus before the European Union market starts to rebalance towards the end of this year, we are calling on all players who rely on a thriving domestic pig sector to take the following actions:

Processors: Don't exploit the current period of over-supply to increase your margins. You're already in profit, your suppliers aren't.

Independent butchers: Your customers assume the pork you sell is British. If you must sell cheap imported product, be honest and label it prominently as such.

Foodservice: A majority of diners prefer their meat to be British. Serve British pork and please remember to signal the fact on your table and wall menus.

Retailers: If you already source 100 percent British fresh pork, thank you. If you don't, make a commitment immediately to source at least another five percent British.

Consumers: Pork is particularly good value at present as pig farmers are being paid at 2007 levels for their pigs. Please always make a point of checking the pork, bacon, ham and sausages you buy are British.

Pig farmers: Keep taking a pride in the excellent job you do to produce healthy, nutritious British pork. Your commitment to improving efficiency and animal welfare deserves recognition by consumers and everyone in the production chain.

With your help, we can safeguard the future of the higher-welfare British pig industry.

Media drive

The NPA launched a major media drive on Friday, with staff and farmers appearing on a number of platforms to raise awareness about the industry's plight.

Among its key messages was to encourage major retailers, Tesco and Asda, who have not committed to 100 per cent British pork, to at least commit to sourcing 5 per cent more.

State of the market - an eight year low

By the end of January, the UK Standard Pig Price (SPP) was down to 112.66p/kg, down fractionally from the previous week.

This represented an eight-year low.

A year ago it stood at above 140p/kg, with the latest drop a continuation of the relentless decline from a high of just below 170p/kg in autumn of 2013.

The situation is driven by over-supply in the EU due in large part to the continuing Russian export ban. The availability of cheap EU pigmeat has pushed UK prices down, with signs of weakening UK demand also an issue.

The NPA estimates pig producers are typically losing £10 on every pig they produce due to this mismatch.

There are some glimmers of hope. The relatively small drop in the end of January price suggests the surplus of pigs coming forwards following the holiday period could now be drawing to a conclusion, according to AHDB pork.

Supply levels are still in excess of demand, however.

The EU pig price continued to firm during January, although the latest prices for week ending 24 January were released before the announcement came to suspend the Private Storage Aid scheme with a view of closing it.

It remains to be seen what impact this will have on the EU price, AHDB Pork said.